Campfire
by Miss Mew
Summary: What happens when two boys start to find out that there is more to each other than they thought?(Taito)


_Authoresses Notes: Hey everyone, I hope you enjoy my fic, I warn you I am fairly new at writing. So please be patient with me, and any criticism is welcome. Just no flames please. I would really like it if you reviewed and told me what you thought and any ideas or suggestions are welcome. I would like to thank my editor and partner in crime, thanks girl! You rock! Please, everyone check out her stuff, it's listed under my favourite authors, 'IzzysGirl'. Enjoy!_

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters; I just use them for my fics. If I did own them, the ending to season two would never have happened. 

**Campfire**

_"When you feel all alone   
And a loyal friend is hard to find   
You're caught in a one way street   
With the monsters in your head   
When hopes and dreams are far away and   
You feel you can't face the day_

_Let me be the one you call   
If you jump I'll break your fall   
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night   
If you need to fall apart   
I can mend a broken heart   
If you need to crash then crash and burn   
You're not alone "_

_Savage__Garden__ – 'Crash & Burn'  
  
  
___

He groaned as he awoke. Looking around to see if any of the others were awake he noticed that the fire had dwindled to a smouldering pile of ashes. Lying near by was the sleeping forms of Sora and Mimi. He smirked to himself - that was so like them. It didn't matter anyway. Matt and he were going to have to get up anyways. Wondering what had awoken him, Taichi peered into the darkness. His eyes quickly adjusting to the near pitch darkness had that crept in during the night to cover the camp. Spotting nothing out of the ordinary he turned his head to finish scanning the camp. His eyes quickly picking out the sleeping forms of his companions. 

Although Taichi felt puzzled as to what could have awoken him, he dismissed it.

"Kuso, I have to stop waking up in the middle of the night, though…"his eyes falling on the curled figures of Mimi and Sora, "maybe it was a good thing tonight."

 Normally the night shifts wouldn't have bothered him. However, due to his insomnia of late he had been getting less and less sleep every night. "Next thing you know I'm going to be a coffee addict like Matt." He scoffed. Matt, his real name was Yamato, though he was always 'Matt' in Taichi's mind. The young unresponsive teenager was as much of an irritation to Taichi as he was a mystery. Why the cerulean blue eyes bothered Taichi so much, he couldn't fathom. It was as if Matt knew exactly which buttons to push. And no matter how much Taichi tried to avoid thinking of his rival his thoughts always tend to stray in his direction. 

Realising that he was only delaying the inevitable Taichi pulled himself away from his makeshift bed. Looking over to his right, Hikari was still fast asleep, curled up to Takeru. The two were best of friends. He knew that they drew their strength from each other. They were of the same age, which made this journey that they had been thrown in to a little more bearable. Taichi often worried about his sister, he knew that if anything happened, he would not be able to forgive himself. Takeru, was a miniature Matt, identical blonde hair, and when he was awake the same cerulean blue eyes. Only his held much innocence and happiness. 

Damn, again his thoughts had strayed towards Matt, he was starting to think that there was something seriously wrong with him. Matt was a jerk, a cold heartless jerk, right? Taichi couldn't admit to himself that it was the truth. He knew deep down that that was not the case. He still didn't know why Matt acted the way he did, but he knew that he was not a cold hearted person. 

Sighing with resignation Taichi started over towards the girls. They really should be up; maybe tomorrow he will mention something. Walking over the pile of ashes that had once been the fire he shook them awake to let them know that they were relieved. Smiling tiredly, the two of them crept off to the further end of camp. Looking over at the two of them, Taichi wondered, shaking his head he went to wake Matt. 

Matt looked very different as he slept. He really resembled his brother, Taichi thought. An air of almost child like innocence graced his features, softening the lines about his face. He no longer had his trademark smirk, rather it was replaced with a look of such sadness that Taichi was taken aback. Matt, he wondered, why would he look so sad? He was anything but sad during the day. Matt was proud, arrogant, saucy, and overprotective of his brother. But never sad. 

"Come on, Matt, …come on…wake up!" He whispered. 

"Uh…no. Go… away…"

Now this was the Matt he knew.  

"Matt come on, we have night shift."

"I'm coming… arg….too early in the morning…. I need a coffee." 

Taichi smirked. "Actually it's still night time. And how can you drink that stuff?"

All Tai got in response was a glare. 

"Blame my dad… he started it… Just a second, I'm coming" Yamato slowly dragged himself away from the warm comforting blankets. He walked quickly over to the ashes, treading carefully so as to not wake the other digidestined. 

Taichi could only look at him with a mixture of shock and disbelief on his face. Such a simple sentence, yet to anyone who did not know Matt, they would not have realised that such a simple statement meant a great deal. Although the Digidestined had been together for some time, Matt had never once mentioned his father. Certainly not in such a casual reference. Was Matt starting to open up? Or was it just a skip of the tongue due to the fact that he was still not awake. Taking his chances, Taichi sat down beside Matt. 

"Why did you say that your father was to blame for your coffee addiction?" Taichi whispered, in what he hoped was a casual tone. He had no wish to wake the others or have Matt clam up again. 

Matt sat still, although he did not let his mask slip, Taichi could sense that he had tensed to the question. Silently cursing himself for his stupidity, Taichi waited for Matt to answer. After what seemed to be an eternity for Taichi, Matt spoke in no more than a whisper. 

"He always worked late hours. When he would come home from work we would sit down and he would make us a cup of coffee, before he headed off to work again." Seeming to regret his decision of say something, Matt quickly stood up. 

"I think that we are going to need some more wood. I'll be back"

"Umm… okay…wait… Matt…" but  before Taichi could finish the sentence Matt had dashed off into the woods. Looking over to the woodpile that they had stacked earlier in the evening, Taichi now regretted asking. 

"…I'm sorry."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The anger and the frustration at himself seemed to make the air thick around Yamato. He took no notice of the beautiful night or of the slim sliver of the moon. The lightly fragrant air was paid little heed, Yamato was too preoccupied with his thoughts. 

'Stupid Tai and his questions. Why did he have to go and say something?' Matt thought angrily. Though really, he knew that it was no fault of Taichi's that he had said something. He had been caught off his guard and that moment of weakness he revealed to his rival what he had been thinking. True, it had only been a dream, but its vivid realness is what sparked Yamato's thoughts on to his father. 

"Dad .dad…"A young Yamato emerges from his room. Still dressed in his pjs, the young blue eyed youngster searches for his father. Tears start to well up in his eyes…

_"Daddy…." But he was not there.  He had been too busy to pay much attention to his son, and there was no one to comfort him when the terror of nightmares chases all dreams from him. He would soon grow accustomed to this, but how to reason with a child of 5? To tell him that his father is only at work, and that he will be back. _

_A terrified Yamato curls up on the couch, another night, another nightmare, again gone uncomforted._

Yamato sighed inward. He did not want to think of this. It had been so long ago. It no longer mattered. He understood. His father had to work long shifts to support his son. He did not begrudge him. 

Tearing his thoughts from the path that they were surly headed down; he turned his head towards to the welcoming night. Breathing in the magnificence, he reoriented himself and began to look around for wood.  

This really was Taichi's fault, he was the reason that he was out here in the middle of the night looking for wood none the less. Picking up a stick, Yamato noticed the glowing lights of what appeared to be a fire directly in front of him. Knowing that Taichi had probably rekindled the fire made Yamato feel stupid. He had rushed off in order to avoid more of Taichi's questions. Though, it may turn out that his actions will only lead to more questions by the chestnut haired youth. No, his hair was more like a rich chocolate brown, like the warm chocolate brown of his eyes. Shimatta! Yamato cursed himself. Where the fuck did that come from? Fuck! Now he was thinking eloquent poetry to describe his rival's hair and eye colour. Slumping down against a tree, Yamato cradled his head in hands. What was the matter with him? First he was spouting off about his father to Taichi, now this. Wait… not Taichi…Tai… fuck... his name was Tai. 

After what seemed an eternity, Yamato raised his head to peer into the darkness up ahead of him. Glowing like the welcoming beacon of home was the fire that Tai had lit. The guilt and the foolishness of what he had done started to take its toll on Yamato. Yamato knew that he should head back. Composing himself once again, vowing not to let the mask slip, he steeled himself towards the light of the campfire. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            The crunching of the undergrowth alerted him to Matt's return. He decided against saying anything, seeing as the last time it had only upset him. Yamato quickly walk over to the fire, the shadows obscuring all traces of his emotional outburst. 

            Although nothing was said, it was understood that saying nothing at the moment was for the best. Both were unsure as to what had transpired. A feeling of foreboding hung around the campsite, making its presence known. The fire danced in front of their eyes, keeping their secrets for one more night.


End file.
